Club accuses league of disorganisation and lack of respect after late cancellation announcement
Villarreal have hit out at La Liga over its management of the proposed league match against Barcelona that was due to take place in Miami in December, calling the process “poorly handled” and accusing organisers of showing “a complete lack of respect.”
The fixture would have been the first official La Liga match staged outside Spain but was officially cancelled on Tuesday due to “the uncertainty generated in Spain in recent weeks”.
The league confirmed that the game would now be played at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica.
Villarreal said it had repeatedly warned La Liga about organisational failings in the lead-up to the planned event and accused the league of poor communication.
The club said it “put itself at the disposition of La Liga, insisting on the importance of working in advance and planning to be able to meet all of the resulting needs”, but there was no progress for weeks.
“Villarreal CF has repeatedly expressed its utmost concern to the organisation, and urged it to define such basic and fundamental aspects as confirming the match time and hiring a travel agency for such a large-scale trip, which are vital to begin planning,” the club’s statement read.
“In fact, a meeting was scheduled for this Thursday, in which if these issues were not resolved immediately, the club would withdraw from the project due to not having the minimum conditions guaranteed for the organisation.
“Last night, minutes before kickoff in the Champions League match between Villarreal CF and Manchester City at the Estadio de la Ceramica, the club was notified by phone by La Liga that the match was cancelled due to the decision of the promoters.
“Minutes later, and to the club’s surprise, La Liga decided to issue a unilateral statement announcing the cancellation of a match involving Villarreal, during such an important game for the club, demonstrating a complete and utter lack of respect and a lack of sensitivity and empathy.”
The planned Miami fixture collapsed because it had faced too much opposition from several quarters, including players, supporters and clubs in Spain, most notably Real Madrid.
The Spanish players’ union (AFE) coordinated player protests on the pitch during last weekend’s La Liga games, with players standing still for up to 15 seconds after kick-off in demonstration.
